New Iberia woman sentenced in tax refund scheme

LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) - A 40-year-old New Iberia woman has been sentenced to 26 months in prison in a tax refund scheme that netted $77,349 that the woman used for gambling expenses.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says Veta Thompson was accused of receiving the money as a refund after submitting more than $12 million in overpayments to the Internal Revenue Service from accounts that were either closed or did not have enough money.

Prosecutors say the IRS issued nine refund checks in 2009 totaling $77,349 before the agency realized the overpayments were drawn on accounts that were either closed or empty.